Pierre Dørge and New Jungle Orchestra - 'Sketches of India'

Beautiful, great fun and not corny, Sketches of India is pleasingly unlike any other jazz response to the subcontinent.

The globe-trotting Danish little-big-band deploy no tabla nor sitar, but their original ‘sketches’ are acutely observed and suitably diverse.

Note: if you click either of the adjacent images, you will see it much-enlarged, annotated, and in whatever is its particular 'correct' format

In 2010 - 45 years after he’d been profoundly affected by a Ravi Shankar concert in Copenhagen - Danish guitarist Pierre Dørge took his New Jungle Orchestra to India.

Anyone lucky enough to have experienced the NJO ‘live’ will not be surprised to hear that Indian audiences responded very warmly.

Later that year Pierre and his wife Irene Becker (the NJO's keyboardist and a 1980 co-founder) returned to India for three weeks. They travelled widely, met many musicians and had ‘a wonderful learning experience.’

In 2011 they recorded this album. Every piece vividly evokes an aspect of India, often in unpredictable, not always overtly ‘Indian-accented’ ways.

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Details of each track are presented in the following order:

BROADCAST TIME TRACK NUMBER AND TITLE COMPOSER PUBLISHING AND COPYRIGHT DETAILS RECORDING COMPANY AND CD NUMBER distributor/ source details, like this, in lower-case ARTIST AND CD TITLE Duration of track Description of track, in lower-case.Where relevant, further info links to information, gigs/events/related programs

‘THE WEEKEND PLANET’ SAT 01. 12. 12

(first aired on March 10, 2012)

2205

THEME:

details below, as per the original CD. This cut is also on these compilations:

2207CD CUT 4, ‘ELEPHANTS ON THE ROAD’PIERRE DØRGESTEEPLECHASE MUSIC ( KODA )STEEPLECHASE SCCD31728in Australasia, through Australian Northern Europe Liaisonswww.henk.com.au worldwide: www.steeplechase.dkPIERRE DØRGE AND NEW JUNGLE ORCHESTRA – ‘SKETCHES OF INDIA’4: 17Its Danish guitarist/author’s exuberant musical response to a Indian taxi-ride surprise in the year 2010 – when Pierre visited India for the first time (and the second time) in his life.

Says Pierrre: We suddenly saw these elephants dragging tree trunks across the road. It was like a scene from the Jungle Book’ or a Sabu Movie. It took us back to our childhood’

SEGUE

2211CD CUT 3, 'SWARALAYA'SHASHANK SUBRAMANYAM STEEPLECHASE MUSIC ( KODA )STEEPLECHASE SCCD 31693 in Australasia, through Australian Northern Europe Liaisons: www.henk.com.auworldwide: www.steeplechase.dkPIERRE DØRGE AND NEW JUNGLE ORCHESTRA - 'AT THE ROYAL PLAYHOUSE'10: 52 'live', overtly Indian, with other elements too. It begins with its Indian guest/author, alone, playing bass flute, then a higher-pitched Indian bamboo flute.

When double bassist Thommy Anderson sets up a groove, this becomes much more lively and conversational, with horns, Pierre’s electric guitar, keys, drums and percussion. Trumpeter Kasper Tranberg is the other primary soloist.

This remembers a visit to a cave, which is also a temple. Its name refers to a huge sculpture which depicts a sacred tiger

SEGUE

2246CD CUT 4, 'SIGUI DYARRA'MAHAMADOU DIABATE (AKA 'MAMADOU DIABATE)PUB NOT SPEC FELMAY FY 8100 no current Australian distributor worldwide, and info: www.felmay.itReadily available worldwide via www.cdroots.comMAMADOU DIABATE, USTAAD SHUJAAT HUSSAIN KHAN, LALGUDI GJR KRISHNAN - 'STRINGS TRADITION'4: 10 Bright, dancing-lyrical piece composed by the West African, kora-playing co-leader. The title means 'when you settle in a new place and you have a wonderful time.'

The sitarist is Hindustani (north Indian) classical virtuoso Ustaad Shujaat Hussain. The other co-leader is a Carnatic (south Indian) classical violinist. The percussionists: one of each Indian classical persuasion - tabla player Gourishankar and Murali Trichy on the ghatam - Carnatic, claypot hand-drum.

2311CD CUT 6, ‘INDIAN NIGHT SKYIRENE BECKERSTEEPLECHASE MUSIC ( KODA )STEEPLECHASE SCCD31728in Australasia, through Australian Northern Europe Liaisonswww.henk.com.auworldwide: www.steeplechase.dkPIERRE DØRGE AND NEW JUNGLE ORCHESTRA – ‘SKETCHES OF INDIA’5: 22Spacious, lyrical instrumental ode to a southern Indian night sky – full of stars and moon, not obscured by electric light - as viewed from the home of Indian friend Shashank Subramanyam.

It features the Danish composer’s piano, Anders Banke’s bass clarinet, Gunnar Halle's trumpet, the leader’s electric guitar and the 10-strong NJO’s general excellence.

It is played with conviction, but not on Indian instruments, nor by Indians.

Sandy's soprano sax is very akin to an Indian double-reed. Her colleagues are double bassist Brett Hirst and drummer Toby Hall

SEGUE

2333CD CUT 3, 'SWARALAYA'SHASHANK SUBRAMANYAM STEEPLECHASE MUSIC ( KODA )STEEPLECHASE SCCD31728in Australasia, through Australian Northern Europe Liaisonswww.henk.com.auworldwide: www.steeplechase.dkPIERRE DØRGE AND NEW JUNGLE ORCHESTRA – ‘SKETCHES OF INDIA’8: 44A very different version of the piece which is @ 2211 in this program’s first hour.

Its Indian author is absent, here; the 10-strong NJO, with no guests.

Anders Banke plays wonderful clarinet on a piece which is decidedly Indian-accented, but the performance is definitely not ‘pretend Indian’. It also features Morten Carlsen’s tarogato and Gunnar Halle’s trumpet. Ingeniously arranged.

2344:CD CUT 4, ‘INDIA’JOHN MCLAUGHLIN/ L/SHANKAR WARNER-TAMERLANE PUB/ BASQUE MUSIC INC (BMI)/SEETHALAKSHMI MUSIC INC/ GANESH MUSIC (BMI)MOMENT MRCD 1011 (US IMPORT)SHAKTI – ‘THE BEST OF SHAKTI’12 33 Very lyrical, ‘Indian’, with w elements of north and south and elsewhere.

Recorded in London in 1976. John McLaughlin plays a beautiful, string-bending, alaap-like introduction on a modified acoustic guitar, with a scalloped fretboard.

As the piece unfolds and becomes rhythmic, he is joined by violinst Shankar (then known as ‘L’ Shankar), T. H ‘Vikku’ Vinayakram on ghatam (the south Indian claypot hand-drum) and tabla player Zakir Hussain.

This is also on/ originally from A Handful of Beauty – the 2nd (arguably best) of the 3 ‘original’ Shakti albums.